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Text Shield came and spoke to them again several times over the course of the week: he seemed like a good pony, and was dedicated to finding Fluttershy's killer... although he'd warned Rainbow several times not to do anything she might later regret. But as the police investigation slowed down and leads turned up nothing, Rainbow became more fanatical in her need to find out who had done this to Fluttershy... to the point she was scaring Rarity and Pinkie Pie, and maybe even Twilight. Applejack was trying her best to soothe Rainbow, and had put aside her lingering concerns about Scrivener Blooms to spend time with them both. Scrivener was thankful for it... even if it didn't seem like Big Mac liked him very much, and Apple Bloom was downright scared of him now, which hurt the stallion strangely deeply. When the weeks became a month, and Ponyville as a whole tried to start moving on from what had happened to Fluttershy, Rainbow had seemed betrayed. All she could think about was that there was a torturer and murderer on the loose, that someone had done horrible things to an innocent, loving, wonderful Pegasus who had never raised a hoof against anypony... and now they were simply giving up. They were letting the monster get away. Shield, Scrivener, everypony tried to reassure her that wasn't the case, but Rainbow wouldn't, couldn't listen... could only focus on doing everything in her power to avenge her friend. The others were trying to move on: Rarity said Fluttershy wouldn't want them focusing on revenge... that they had to be like her, patient, and graceful, and careful. And Applejack tried to reason with Rainbow, said that she wanted to catch whoever did this too, but that maybe letting the killer think they got away with it would be the best thing right now... they might get cocky, they might make a mistake, they might try something else that would lead to them getting caught. And Rainbow spent a lot of time with Scrivener Blooms, talking with him, going over things with him. Her plans for revenge, her thoughts, her suspicions, everything. She was furious and bordering on paranoid and a mess, and yet Scrivener knew the only thing he could do was be there at her side, talk with her, and try and gently turn her away from the path she was on... even as he answered her questions willingly about what he knew about darker things. Sometimes Twilight sat with them, but often, Rainbow would get uncomfortable: a good sign, Scrivener thought. Rainbow got nervous not because she didn't like expressing her ideas in front of Twilight, but because Twilight had a bit too much of a dark fascination with the things Scrivener would sometimes start talking about, would look a little too excited at times, got a bit too vivid and detailed in her own thoughts and descriptions. Scrivener knew that Rainbow wanted revenge: what he wasn't sure of yet was what would happen when they did catch whoever hurt Fluttershy. His hope, though, was that while Rainbow might lay a righteous beating into the monster that did it... she would falter before she took things too far. She would seek justice, not brutal revenge or even callous retribution... and now, as they sat together more than a month after the arson at the hospital in the library, Rainbow hesitantly looked across the table at him and asked quietly: "Scrivener, I don't like to bring this up... but... Twilight has... I saw that Twilight has some bruises on her. Do you... wanna explain that to me?" The charcoal stallion glanced down, then he shook his head quietly, feeling a rumble run through his body as he breathed slowly in and out. Then Rainbow leaned forwards, reaching a hoof across the table as her red eyes locked on him, making him draw his gaze up to meet hers almost shamefully as she said quietly: "Just tell the truth, okay? I'm not leaping to conclusions here, I'm your friend. I want to hear your story before I decide if I gotta kick your flank or not." Scrivener smiled faintly after a moment, then he tossed an almost nervous look towards the door, before his eyes drew slowly around the library interior. For a few moments, he was silent as he took everything in, let himself really see the way things had changed. How the books had been resorted messily in the shelves, and erotic fiction and books on sex had been left out in the open. At the bedding on one side of the room, and the beaded curtain that now hung and separated this almost-dangerous kingdom of books from the back room where Spike spent most of his time, amongst the fiction and the children's stories, with his fortress of blankets and pillows and a few stuffed animals. The charcoal stallion's eyes drew back to the table, and they settled for a moment on another empty chair: a set of leather reins hung off the back of this, casually left out in the open... and it was no wonder ponies didn't like coming by anymore, and especially didn't like their foals stopping in. He grimaced a bit as he felt his mind spark, shuddering with the epiphany as he muttered: "Twilight and I have really fallen hard, haven't we?" "Yeah. So tell me what's going on, dude." Rainbow said quietly, and Scrivener closed his eyes before nodding slowly, giving a soft sigh after a moment. "We get... rough, sometimes." Scrivener began slowly, bowing his head forwards, and he wanted to look away, wanted to not say anything, wanted to lie... but he forced himself to keep his gaze locked with Rainbow's even as shame rollicked through him, mixing with his paranoia, his fear... and ever since he'd been taking the ULT meds, that festering, rumbling fire that sometimes burst up and made him act almost... animal, aggressive, made it harder for him to hold back. "She... Horses of Heaven, Rainbow, I... I know what this sounds like, but she likes it when I... when I..." He swallowed slowly, and Rainbow shook her head slowly, Scrivener feeling a burst of pain as he dropped his head and whispered: "She knows just what buttons to press, Rainbow. And I wanna blame her and I wanna blame the fact I'm still on the ULT and I want to blame everything else but... I know it's my fault, yeah. And I know I probably do deserve to get the snot beaten out of me. But... she... asks for it. I mean literally, she literally asks me to... especially when we're... I..." He shivered and shook his head hurriedly, and Rainbow looked silently across at Scrivener before she said softly: "I thought you were better than that, Scrivy. You know... you know she's not well, don't you?" "Yeah. I do. And... I'm not." Scrivener glanced to the side, shaking his head a bit. "Look at me, Rainbow, I spent most of my life believing that... I was some kind of... special. But I'm not. I lived in fantasy and delusion for years after losing Luna, and now I've got Twilight and... I can't even do what's right for her. I'm just... corrupting her. Hurting her. Ruining her. I still... I still cling to the hope that none of this is... that I'm not insane, but what does that mean, Rainbow? It means I'm not only hurting Twilight and using her, it means that I'm only waiting for the day I can up and abandon her to go back home. What kind of scumbag am I?" "Scrivener, now I'm pretty sure you just want me to come over and there and smack the hell out of you, and I'm not going to." Rainbow sighed, shaking her head slowly and glaring across at him, and the charcoal stallion smiled faintly as their eyes met. "But this stuff with Twilight... it's gotta stop. Even if she likes it, even if she wants it, you... you gotta stop. You're better than that... and the only reason I might half-believe you is because... lately, Twilight's gotten so... so weird." Rainbow Dash glanced to the side, shivering a bit, and Scrivener frowned at her before the Pegasus muttered: "She's not... I haven't seen her... you know, hurting herself or anything, but it's... the way she looks so excited when ponies start talking about pain. Hell, the way she reacts to seeing other people's pain these days... Pinkie Pie said she was helping look after the Cake foals the other day when Twilight came in to pick up an order, and poor Pound Cake took a nasty fall out of the air and got a big nasty scrape on his head. Poor kid is wailing away and Pinkie's freaking out, but she's sharper than we give her credit for, you know? She still saw Twilight grinning, licking her lips, like she... like she liked it. Like she was drinking up that kid's suffering..." "Oh God." Scrivener grimaced and leaned back, and when Rainbow looked at him, the charcoal stallion looked away with a flush and mumbled: "That was two days ago, wasn't it? Because Twilight came back... excited... and... wanted me to..." He broke off, then shook his head out hurriedly and whispered: "I know. I know this has gotta stop. You're right, Dash, and... I just... this is all my fault. She tried to change herself for me, she kept talking about wanting to be more like me, and she's warped herself into this... this..." "Psycho." Rainbow muttered, and Scrivener hesitated, beginning to open his mouth before they both looked up as the door to the library was booted open, and both ponies stared as Twilight stormed angrily in, her eyes almost glowing with fury. "Puddin', don't you listen to her!" Twilight said sharply, looking at Scrivener as her eyes turned pleading for a moment, and then she snarled and glared over at Rainbow Dash. "And you... you backstabbing bitch. I knew you wanted him all for yourself... trying to convince my puddin' that I'm sick in the head, so you can sweep in and steal him away, is that it?" "Twilight, look at yourself!" Rainbow shouted angrily back after a moment, even though hurt flashed in her eyes and she still looked shocked. But Twilight only snarled, the bruising over one side of her face almost proudly on display alongside her glinting piercings, clasp of her collar gleaming, and bandaging now covering most of one leg... and Scrivener looked at the last dumbly as he realized she hadn't been wearing that when she'd left. "What would Celestia think? What would your big brother think? Twilight, listen to me-" "No, you listen to me!" Twilight shouted, and her voice almost cracked the windows with how loud it was, Scrivener and Rainbow both wincing backwards before the violet mare approached slowly, snarling and hackles raised, looking as fierce and intimidating as a dragon. "How I live my life is my business, not yours. What I like, that's my business too. And if you got such a problem with it, Rainbow, you come and talk to me about it instead of goin' behind my back and talkin' to my puddin', do you hear me? You're just jealous and angry... I gots a stallion, after all, a stallion I knows how to please, and you don't got nopony!" Scrivener shivered as he leaned back a bit, hearing the fanaticism in her voice, staring at her: this wasn't the Twilight he knew... except no. As she grinned, as she leaned forwards aggressively, as her eyes burned and her very voice changed, he realized this was the dark Twilight. The savage Twilight, who came out at her primal moments, who encouraged his hungers, who fed off pain and passion. "What's wrong, sweetie? Something got your tongue? That's probably good, 'cause if you keep flappin' it I might have to show you what happens to naughty ickle girls who talk outta turn." "What the hell is wrong with you?" Rainbow yelled raggedly, shoving up from the table and striding towards Twilight... and then the Pegasus gasped, head wrenching to the side when Twilight punched her hard across the face. Rainbow shivered violently, breathing hard in and out through her mouth, too shocked to react before Twilight seized her short mane and dragged her head up and in close, making her curse before the violet mare leaned forwards and whispered fiercely enough into her ear that Scrivener could hear every word: "Keep this up, toots, and I'll do a lot more than bruise that pretty face of yours. Sometimes I get bored, see, and worse, sometimes my puddin' needs a little pick-me-up. And nothin' makes him happier than when he gets to put his special talents to use, when he gets to teach people to smile by-" "Get off me!" Rainbow tore herself backwards and free from Twilight, breathing hard and staring in horror at her before she shook her head wildly and shouted desperately: "You need help, Twilight! God, what is wrong with you?" "Nothing! I ain't got nothin' but smiles!" Twilight screamed back, and then she grinned viciously, striding towards Rainbow Dash and breathing hard in and out as Scrivener cursed and shoved himself out of his seat, as the blue Pegasus trembled and stumbled backwards. "Now come on, sweetie, don't make this hard... you don't wanna end up like poor wittle Fluttershy, do you, who just couldn't keep her nosey-wosey clean..." "W-What..." Rainbow stared, trembling, breathing hard before a snarl slowly spread over her face even as she shook her head in denial, whispering: "No. No way, no, no, it's... it's not possible. You... Twilight, please tell me you didn't... that it wasn't..." But Twilight only licked her lips slowly in response, and Scrivener trembled, even as he held up a hoof and whispered: "Wait. Everypony just... just... just calm down, okay? Let's all just calm down and-" "You never forget the smell of barbecued rat, do you sweetie-pie?" Twilight said softly, and Rainbow let out a howl before the Pegasus charged forwards and smashed into Twilight, but the violet mare only laughed as she took the hit, rolling backwards with the Pegasus and yelling furiously: "That's it! Let's play, let's put on a show for my puddin'! Watch me, watch me, watch me, puddin', and let me show you how much I've learned!" Rainbow reared back, raising a hoof... only to take a hard punch to the face that sent a burst of blood from her nose before both Twilight's rear hooves slammed into her stomach, knocking the Pegasus mare backwards. She gargled and clutched at herself, and Twilight pounced on her, pinning her down by the shoulders as she mocked: "What's wrong, I thought you were supposed to be the best at everything you do?" The Pegasus snarled, throwing a hoof hard upwards, the blow splitting open Twilight's lip and bloodying her muzzle... but the violet mare barely flinched before her tongue slid out and licked along the bloody wound, grinning wider as Rainbow shivered in horror. "Oh, poor sweetie. I think you meant to do this." With that, she swung a hoof viciously down into Rainbow's face, smashing into her eye, making her cry out in agony before Twilight brought punch after punch after punch down into the Pegasus. She laughed as she did so, before cursing when Scrivener seized her and threw her backwards, the unicorn bouncing and rolling once before she landed on her back and looked up at him with a hurt expression, whining: "Puddin'! I was just startin' to have fun!" Scrivener didn't even know how to respond, only shaking his head stupidly before Rainbow leapt up to her hooves and barreled forwards, smashing into Twilight and tackling her backwards. The two mares skidded into a shelf, knocking several loose books free as Scrivener cursed and Twilight snarled, shouting angrily as she dodged a punch from Rainbow: "Hey, no fair! I was talkin' to my puddin'!" Twilight slammed both hooves up into Rainbow's stomach, knocking her backwards again as Scrivener lunged forwards into the fray, cursing as he tried to get between them. But Twilight slipped elegantly around him, moving with awful, sinuous grace as she dove past and seized Rainbow's shoulders, slamming her face-first into the ground before leapfrogging her fallen form with a laugh. The unicorn landed easily on her hooves and skidded around as her eyes blazed... and a moment later, Rainbow Dash kicked both rear hooves hard outwards, Twilight crying out in shock as she was knocked rolling from the powerful double-kick. Scrivener winced, turning, grabbing at Rainbow, but she was already on her hooves and charging for Twilight as tears and blood streamed down her face. "How could you?" "She was trying to take my sweet puddin' away from me! No one's gonna take my puddin' away!" Twilight shouted in return, then she swung her head forwards when Rainbow leapt at her, their skulls colliding and Rainbow collapsing senselessly before Twilight stepped forwards, slamming a front hoof down into her again, again, again, grinning as blood splattered up over her features as she said disgustedly: "Seems to me you're pretty fond of pain yourself, sweetie, seein' how you're just lyin' there lettin' me beat your face!" "Stop it!" Scrivener shouted as he ran forwards, and he grabbed Twilight as she looked up with that same almost injured expression, shoving her backwards. She stumbled, her lower lip trembling as she stared at him, and the earth pony snarled at her, leaning forwards as he snapped: "What the hell are you doing? Goddammit, Twilight, who the hell are you?" Twilight fumbled for a response, looking wildly back and forth... and then she snarled, tears in her eyes when Rainbow began to lift herself slowly, groggily up, and shrieked: "You! This is all your fault, tryin' to take him away from me! How dare you mess with my puddin's head! Now I'm gonna make sure you can't upset him ever again!" Twilight leapt to the side, then lunged forwards as she lowered her horn, Rainbow looking up in stupid shock... and then Scrivener snarled and leapt between them, before he gasped when Twilight's horn sank into his flesh, feeling it driving to the hilt. He shivered hard, his eyes staring blankly at the floor as a bit of blood dribbled from his slack jaw, and then he gasped when Twilight stumbled backwards with a moan of horror, reaching up to cover her mouth with a hoof, staring in disbelief. Scrivener's blood rolled down her horn, spilled along her face like tears... and then she whimpered and leapt forwards when Scrivener collapsed, the earth pony staring mindlessly across the room. Twilight leapt forwards, hugging him tightly, shaking him firmly as she whispered: "Puddin', puddin', oh no, no, no, don't die on me, baby, no, you come back to me... you... you... I was only ever tryin' to be what you wanted me to be..." She whimpered, trembled... and then her violet eyes flashed as she looked up at Rainbow Dash, glaring as the Pegasus stumbled slowly backwards before the unicorn hissed: "This is all your fault!" And Scrivener trembled weakly as Twilight vaulted over him, his eyes sliding closed as he fell into darkness... and the last thing he heard was the sound of Rainbow Dash screaming, the last thing he felt was that he had failed to protect another of his friends. Top ↑ Category:Transcript Category:Story